


Mary Caves In

by bread_time



Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, cracking open a cold heart with the nuns, mention of canon character death, not my usual tags but here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25227958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bread_time/pseuds/bread_time
Summary: the night in the cave, and why Ava slept so well
Relationships: Shotgun Mary/Ava Silva, past Shotgun Mary/Sister Shannon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Mary Caves In

**Author's Note:**

> Is it still a drabble after 1k? I just finished warrior nun and these two wouldn't let me go. This is the first thing I've posted in years, be gentle.

When Mary heard Ava shifting positions for the ninth time in as many breaths she had had enough.  
  
“Seriously, what is wrong with you? It’s a cave, you’re not going to wiggle your way to some memory foam.”  
  
“Maybe you’re used to roughing it on all your cool nun missions, but my ass hasn’t quite made peace with this yet.”  
  
Sighing, Mary rolled on to her side to get a better look at the reluctant Warrior Nun. The fire was still going strong, she was pleased to note, and the shadows it cast on Ava’s face danced arhythmically.  
  
Mary propped her head up on a palm to glare at Ava, but hardly needed to. From under the arm slung across her face Ava grunted, “Your death glare is not going to help me get comfortable, Not-Sister.”  
  
“That would be good to know if I had any intention of making you comfortable. Right now, all I want is for you to shut up and let me get some damn rest.”  
  
Twigs scraped against stone once more as Ava took a position mirroring Mary’s. Mary let the girl open and close her mouth like a fish twice before rolling her eyes. “What is it? Just say it alr—“  
  
“What was going on between you and Shannon?”  
  
Now it was Mary’s turn to let her mouth drop open, if only for a second. She could feel herself locking up, expression going blank and body rolling to her other side in the universal body language for “I don’t want to talk.” Unfortunately, it seemed that Ava was illiterate.  
  
“I know we barely know each other, but since I’ve kind of been dragged into Sister Shannon’s position in life and stuff I’ve been thinking, and I know you cared a lot about her and—“  
  
“Care,” Mary interrupted, “I still care a lot about her. That doesn’t go away just because she’s dead.”  
  
“Oh,” Ava said softly. “I’m sorry. You must hate me for pushing her into the past like that—“  
  
“Christ, Ava, it’s not about you! It wouldn’t matter if you were The Next, or Lillith, or Father Vincent for fuck’s sake! No matter who or what came after, she died. In my arms, on my watch, and I didn’t do anything to help. Now, don’t tell me I couldn’t have helped, you weren’t there. Maybe I could, maybe I couldn’t, but either way she’s gone and I still have to let the world keep on turning without her.”  
  
In the silence that stretched out from her outburst Mary lay on her side, staring at the medallion in her hands. She gazed at it with more heat than the nearby fire, directing onto it all of her frustration at the last few weeks. Shannon was gone, Lillith was gone, soon the Halo would be gone and with it all hope of avenging Shannon’s death.  
  
A shadow rose over the medallion in Mary’s fingers. Looking behind herself, Mary came face to face with a kneeling Ava between her and the fire. Mary expected to feel a chill away from the flames, but Ava’s body radiated heat. Just like Shannon used to, Mary thought with a pang.  
  
Slowly, Ava reached down to Mary’s hands. She looked to Mary, a question in her eyes, and with a nod Mary let the end of the chain slip into Ava’s fingers. As Mary watched, Ava’s fingers ran over the symbol like she did every night, how Shannon used to when she was struggling to reach a decision. So, so gently, Ava closed her eyes and brought the medallion up to her lips, holding it there for a breath, two breaths, before laying it against Mary’s chest.  
  
“I don’t know much about prayer,” Ava started. “but I don’t think you do either. I never prayed, no matter how much the nuns at the orphanage wanted me to, because there was no one I hoped would be listening. Not God, not even my mom. They weren’t part of what made my world keep spinning. But for you, that was Shannon. A point in the universe to measure yourself by, someone to ground you.”  
  
Mary sat up, bending one knee in a few inches from where Ava knelt. When she said nothing, Ava continued.  
  
“I never had the freedom to spiral out of control, nothing was ever in my control. But now I can walk and I can feel what it’s like to be untethered. You and I, we’re coming at it from two different directions, but we’re in this cave because we have no tether. I’m loose in the world with nothing and no one to make me stay.” Finally, Ava looked up from the medallion against Mary’s chest and looked into her eyes. “Shannon was your tether. But if you don’t find something, someone new to hold on to, you’ll end up like me. And maybe I’ll be okay, once I figure out what I’m doing, but you won’t be. Not like this.”  
  
Ava looked away, taking a deep breath. “I can’t tell you what to be, Mary, just like the Nuns can’t tell me. But you deserve to find something worth being yourself for.”  
  
Ava was turning away, making to lie back down on the other side of the fire, but stopped when Mary grabbed her arm. Ava yelped at the strength of Mary’s hold, then looked up at Mary with a retort on her lips.  
  
“Hey, you don’t have to listen to me but you can’t—“  
  
Ava found herself interrupted yet again, this time by Mary pulling her closer by her arm and kissing her. Slowly, experimentally, Mary moved against Ava’s soft lips, ready for a signal that she wasn’t wanted. As heartbeats passed with all the urgency of a leaf on a lake’s surface, Mary was tauter than a violin string. Finally, once Mary had decided to pull away, she felt a hand coming to grab her by the neck, pulling her in closer.  
  
As slowly as the kiss had started, Mary could barely comprehend the seconds passing once Ava responded to her. Soon Ava was in Mary’s lap, hands running down her spine as she kissed Mary’s lips like she couldn’t get close enough.  
  
Mary matched Ava’s enthusiasm, hands slipping under her T-shirt and relishing in the warmth radiating from the Halo in her back. Ava let out a breathy moan when Mary shifted her attention to the column of Ava’s neck, kissing and nipping at the skin there, encouraged by the way Ava was grinding into her lap.  
  
Suddenly Mary was hot, too hot, and broke off the kiss, holding Ava’s hips to keep her at a distance. She glanced at the girl’s swollen red lips, then to her equally shining eyes, breathing deeply but otherwise unsure how to move. Mary didn’t know if she wanted to push the young Halo Bearer away, retreating out of the cave to calm down, or to flip her on to Mary’s bedroll and dive back in.  
  
Ava wasn’t helping the situation, her chest heaving as her eyes darted between Mary’s lips and the exposed skin on her neck and shoulders. In fact, Ava seemed ready to make Mary’s decision for her, leaning in…  
  
“Ava.”  
  
With a start, Ava sat up straight in Mary’s lap, finally making something approaching lucid eye contact.  
  
“Ava, please, I know I started this but I also need to stop this.” Ava’s gaze fell away, and she began to squirm backwards out of Mary’s lap, but Mary’s left hand held her hip firm while her right hand came up to Ava’s chin, forcing the girl to meet her eyes. “I’m not saying I regret this. I just know that if we continue this now it’s gonna make our decisions tomorrow that much harder. Trust me?”  
  
Ava raised an eyebrow. “Trust you? You shoved me off a cliff today!”  
  
“And you’re here anyways. That’s good enough for now.”  
  
With a playful scowl Ava swung herself away from Mary’s bedroll, being careful of the open flames behind her. Though Mary turned away to collect herself, she could not miss the deep shuddering breath Ava let out before returning to her side of the fire.  
  
Mary wasn’t sure how long it took her to fall asleep, but she didn’t hear Ava shift again that night.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Avatrice and Mary/Shannon, but these two have a vibe I couldn't ignore. Let me know if you want more of this pairing/more from this night!


End file.
